1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to photographic cameras, and more particularly to a compact camera with a built-in flash unit.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A current trend in camera design is to incorporate an electronic flash unit in the camera body and yet make the body relatively small in size in order to increase its ease of storage, portability, and handling. Examples of smaller size cameras with built-in electronic flash units are the disk film cameras, such as sold by Eastman Kodak Company, and the compact 35 mm cameras, such as sold by Nikon, Inc. As a consequence of making a camera body smaller in size, the separation between a built-in flash unit and the taking lens is reduced, thereby possibly creating an undesirable effect commonly known as "red-eye". When using a flash unit and a color print film, red-eye is typified by the pupils in the eyes of a person being photographed coming out red-tinted on a developed color print. Such a phenomenon is attributable to the incidence, into the taking lens, of the red light reflected from the retinas in the person's eyes illuminated by the flash light.
Red-eye may be substantially avoided by increasing the separation between the flash unit and the taking lens. As a result, light from the flash unit will reach the eyes of a person being photographed at too great an angle to be reflected by his retinas into the taking lens.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,688,071, issued Aug. 31, 1954 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,557,571 issued Dec. 10, 1985, red-eye appears to be substantially avoided without increasing the size of the camera body to any great degree, by providing a built-in electronic flash unit that is pivotable with respect to the camera body. The flash unit is pivotable between a folded inoperative position in which it is located within a recessed area at a front or rear face of the camera body to form an integrated part of the camera body, and an erect operative position in which it is removed from the recessed area and is elevated sufficiently higher than the taking lens to permit picture-taking usually without the occurrence of red-eye. However, in both of the patents, the flash unit must be swung in an arc away from the camera body to locate the flash unit in its erect position. This is cumbersome and adds to the perception of a bulky camera.
Another approach which, unlike the first two examples, does not add to the perception of a bulky camera is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,275, issued May 19, 1987. In that patent, the flash unit is rotatable about the taking lens, generally in a plane substantially parallel to a front face of the camera body to effect horizontal or vertical format picture-taking. However, since the flash unit is rotatable about the taking lens, the separation between the flash unit and the lens is not as great as in the first two examples, and the possibility of red-eye is increased.